Susan McDuffie has been a lifelong fan of historical fiction and mysteries. As a child, Susan spent such vast amounts of time reading historical fiction that she often wondered if she was born in the wrong century. As an adult, her discovery that Clorox was not marketed prior to 1922 reconciled her to life in this era. Still, the pull of the past was strong, so Susan turned to writing as a way to connect with and reimagine history.
Susan's first published works were two Regency short stories in the Regency Press anthologies A Regency Sampler (1999) and The Winter Holiday Sampler (2000). Her historical mystery, A Mass for the Dead, was published in 2006 by Five Star Mysteries. She has recently completed the sequel entitled The Faerie Hills. In A Mass for the Dead, her first published novel, Susan introduced us to the Scottish sleuth Muirteach MacPhee.
Susan has long been fascinated by Scotland, especially the stories of the traditional clan lands of Colonsay. The McDuffie clan held the role of Keeper of the Records for the medieval Lords of the Isles. On her first visit to Scotland, Susan hitchhiked her way through the Outer Hebrides, and at length arrived on Colonsay. While touring the Oronsay Priory ruins, the seeds for the Muirteach mysteries were planted. Since then, Susan has visited Scotland several times and conducted extensive research for this series.
When not writing or traveling, Susan enjoys making pottery and taking flamenco classes in New Mexico, where she has lived since 1982. She worked for 25 years as an occupational therapist with the Santa Fe Public Schools, and retired in 2007. She shares her life with a Cochiti Pueblo fetish carver and four rambunctious cats. Her pottery is shown at Canyon Road Pottery in Santa Fe.
Susan's first published works were two Regency short stories in the Regency Press anthologies A Regency Sampler (1999) and The Winter Holiday Sampler (2000). Her historical mystery, A Mass for the Dead, was published in 2006 by Five Star Mysteries. She has recently completed the sequel entitled The Faerie Hills. In A Mass for the Dead, her first published novel, Susan introduced us to the Scottish sleuth Muirteach MacPhee.
Susan has long been fascinated by Scotland, especially the stories of the traditional clan lands of Colonsay. The McDuffie clan held the role of Keeper of the Records for the medieval Lords of the Isles. On her first visit to Scotland, Susan hitchhiked her way through the Outer Hebrides, and at length arrived on Colonsay. While touring the Oronsay Priory ruins, the seeds for the Muirteach mysteries were planted. Since then, Susan has visited Scotland several times and conducted extensive research for this series.
When not writing or traveling, Susan enjoys making pottery and taking flamenco classes in New Mexico, where she has lived since 1982. She worked for 25 years as an occupational therapist with the Santa Fe Public Schools, and retired in 2007. She shares her life with a Cochiti Pueblo fetish carver and four rambunctious cats. Her pottery is shown at Canyon Road Pottery in Santa Fe.
Susan McDuffie
author
